Arts & Culture

The “Rockin’ & Shoppin’ Christmas Craft Fair” presented by Future Fuel Chemical Company will be held Saturday, December 3rd from 2 p.m. – 7 p.m. at Fellowship Bible Church of Batesville (located at 276 East Main Street inside Landers Theater) There will be various vendors from the area with Christmas crafts and gifts. For more information go to www.mybatesville.org. To reserve booth space call 870.793.2378

If you want your float to be judged you MUST get a number prior to Friday, December 2, 2011 at noon or the entry will not be judged. You can receive your judging number by e-mailing this information to angela.connell@mybatesville.org , by calling 870-793-2378 or stop by the Batesville Area Chamber of Commerce located at 409 Vine Street, Batesville. Line up at Town Plaza Shopping Center (On Main Street across from Liberty Bank) a...t 5:00pm Saturday, December 3, 2011 and the parade will begin at 6:00pm. Candy is NOT allowed to be thrown from float. Must have walkers hand out candy. First, Second & Third Place parade float winners will be announced Monday, December 5, 2011. Categories to be judged are Commercial & Non-Profit/Civic Organization. All winners will be notified. All judges decisions will be fair, impartial and final. The Batesville Area Chamber of Commerce assumes no responsibility for injury before, during, or after the parade.

Today's THV is packing up the 40-foot RV and coming to Batesville Wednesday evening. We'll be at Lyon College from 5-7 p.m. We'll have the Lyon College Pipe Band playing for us and special guests to share what makes Batesville a great place to live, go to school and work. We'll be out in front of Brown Chapel on campus. It's going to be a good time, so come out and see us.

Jazz masters Rodney Block and the Real Music Lovers return to Batesville to perform a benefit concert for the Ozark Foothills FilmFest on Sunday, November 6. “Jazz on a Sunday Afternoon” will be held at Elizabeth’s Restaurant at 231 East Main Street at 3:00 p.m. The Rodney Block Jazz Project is a quartet comprised of lead trumpet, piano, bass, and drums, with extra vocalist as needed. Block, a classically trained instrumentalist, performs a unique blend of traditional jazz, gospel, hip-hop, Bebop, funk and soul. An Arkansas native, he honed his skills by playing in some of Kansas City's premier venues – Grand Emporium, Plaza III, Blue Room and Liberty Hall. His ensembles have opened for Jonathan Butler, Claude "Fiddler" Williams, and Wynton Marsalis. The group performs regularly at the Afterthought in Little Rock and other venues around the state; they have also toured in Brazil and been featured on AETN Presents: Front Row.

Homecoming 2011 at Lyon College will feature the groundbreaking for a new campus center in addition to the traditional classreunions, alumni awards and special celebrations. Homecoming will be Oct. 21-23.

The groundbreaking for the new campus center will be held at 1:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 21, at the site previously occupied by Edwards Commons, which was destroyed by fire on Oct. 26, 2010. The two-story, 43,427-square-foot building will house the dining hall and kitchen, student life offices, meeting spaces, game room, the Scot Shop, and a bistro.

Four alumni and a longtime friend of the college will be honored this year. Distinguished Alumni Awards will be presented to Dr. Robert Cashner, ’65, and Dr. Timothy Stokes, ’92. Distinguished Alumni Awards are presented to alumni who have brought honor to the college through their distinguished careers. Dr. Cashner is a retired professor, vice chancellor and dean at the University of New Orleans. Dr.

Main Street Batesville will hold the third annual Autumn Antique and Crafts Festival on October 21 and 22. The event will take place in historic downtown Batesville and at other antique and crafts shops in Independence County. Festival hours are Friday, noon to 6:00 p.m. and Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Vendor space is available on Main Street, outdoors at the Pocket Park or indoors at the Landers Theater building (332 E. Main) across the street. Contact Paula Grimes, at 870-793-4632 or downtownbatesville@sbcglobal.net. The Autumn Antique and Crafts Festival is sponsored by Main Street Batesville, First Community Bank, FutureFuel Chemical Company, Fellowship Bible Church, and Ozark Gateway Tourist Council.

Beginning Oct. 21, Lyon College will be putting on its annual fall play; this year’s production will be “The Sweetest Swing in Baseball,” written by Rebecca Gilman. The cast has been rehearsing nearly every day since early September, and the director, Dr. Michael Counts, is expecting great things from this year’s cast.

Sophomore Kelley Wyatt of Batesville plays Dana, a down-on-her-luck artist who falls into a deep depression and attempts suicide. Dana is sent to a psychiatric hospital, but upon adjusting to her new lifestyle, she discovers that her health insurance will only pay for her to stay there for ten days.